Waiting For You
by xxliveforever17xx
Summary: Sam and Andy find themselves alone on New Year's Eve with their thoughts. Songfic for OneRepublic's "All This Time". Please review!


_Hey guys! _

_I've been THE worst author ever and haven't written any fics in a while - just got back from vacation a few days ago, but still no excuse._

_I'm still working on the second chapter in "Is It Still None of My Business?" but my inner muse has been running circles in my head and haven't gotten very far on it._

_I usually hate song fics, but I heard OneRepublic's song "All This Time" and instantly thought of Andy and Sam. So here's a short drabble revolving around the song._

_Hope you guys all like it - your feedback for my other stories has been amazing - you guys are awesome!_

_Oh, and I don't own Rookie Blue or OneRepublic =( Wish I did though!  
_

_

* * *

Six on the second hand_

_Two New Year's resolutions_

_And there's just no question_

_What this man should do_

Sam hit the punching bag with such force he half-expected it to rip open. It felt good to hit something, to empty all this anger and confusion into mindless punches. He hated partners - there was a reason Boyko had almost never partnered him up before. He worked better alone, he was a one-man show. And when he was given a partner, he gave them no mind...he knew they would transfer soon anyways. No one ever lasted long with him, and he liked it that way. Expect for this time, his partner hadn't gone anywhere, and most likely wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

_Damn it, Andy,_ he growled to himself. The rookie had ingratiated herself into every part of his life. At first, he had been angry with her - she had ruined eight long, hard months of undercover work for him. Boyko then had had the audacity to pair them together, to have him be her training officer.

A year had gone by, and after Andy's probation, she had been permanently partnered with Sam. And slowly, bit by bit, he had fallen in love with her.

It was now New Year's Eve, and Sam didn't want to be anywhere but with Andy. Yet here he was, alone, taking out his frustration on an inanimate object.

_Take all the time lost_

_All the days that I cost_

_Take what I took and _

_Give it back to you_

He remembered the first time he realized he was in trouble. It had been three weeks into their tentative training officer - rookie partnership, and he had learned about her dead cousin, the reason she had become a cop. She had been pouring her heart out to him, and while he had been listening attentively, all he could think was how beautiful she was.

He remembered the first time he had dreamed about her. He had woken up angry - not at the dream, because he had _loved_ the dream, but because he had woken up in the first place. He had been all hot and bothered after it, and had had an excruciatingly difficult time sitting next to Andy in the squad car the next day.

He remembered their first kiss. It had been after a physically and mentally exhausting case involving the murder of a homeless nine year-old boy. The case had taken its toll on both of them, but more on Andy, and his comforting led to something neither of them had wanted to talk about, but that had always been on their minds - well, his at least.

He remembered that after that...incident, they had grown closer, in friendship and in something dangerously close to a romantic relationship. They never went that far again physically, but flirting and long talks over multiple drinks had found Sam more and more wrapped up in thoughts, in dreams, in _life_ that revolved around Andy, and Andy only. And when he had realized that he had fallen in love with her, he had done the only thing he knew how to do - run.

That's how he found himself all alone, at the gym, on New Year's Eve.

* * *

_I don't know what day it is_

_I had to check the paper_

_I don't know the city_

_But it isn't home_

Andy couldn't recall a time when she hadn't wanted to be a cop. Ever since she could walk, she had dressed up as a police officer and arrested her mom - well, at least according to her father. And her continually bad choices regarding men only compounded her desire to serve and protect the public, like somehow it would make up for how she had royally screwed up her personal life.

She had lived in this city her whole life. For the first fourteen years, she had loved her home town. She had looked up to her father, and her mother had been her guardian angel. Then her guardian angel had used her wings and flown far, far away. After that, she had detested the city, hated it with her whole heart.

She hated the way it smelled after it rained, the wet asphalt glimmering with water and oil. She hated the shady happenings going on in the black underworld of the city. And most of all, she hated her father's house...her father's door to be exact. Because that was the door her mother had walked out of and left her, all alone.

She had thought she would never be truly happy again. She had become a cop, which had given some meaning to her life, but had still felt empty somehow, incomplete.

And then she had met Sam.

_But you say I'm lucky_

_To love something that loves me_

_But I'm torn as I could be_

_Wherever I roam  
_

Meeting Sam, and the resulting actions, had led her on a windy path to her current destination - the pier, overlooking the river. During the day, the churning water was muddy and smelled like garbage. But during the night, it reflected the shining lights of the city, and it looked like soft black velvet.

She remembered the first time she realized she was in trouble. She had always been attracted to him, from the very first day he had been her training officer. And she had really enjoyed the almost-kiss in the parking lot, on her second day at work...though she was loathe to admit that. But when she had walked into the abandoned parking lot and seen her partner, completely defenseless, with a gun aimed at him, all she could think was how she couldn't lose him. Not as a partner, and not as a...

She remembered when she had first dreamed about him. She had woken up with a sense of satisfaction, and also a keen sense of longing, half-hoping in those first moments of wakefulness that it had actually been real.

She remembered their first kiss. No one had ever been able to take her mind off of something that quickly. Once something bothered her or happened to her, she tended to mull and obsess over it until she figured it out, but her frustration over the case had shattered and dissolved at exactly the same moment when his lips had met hers.

She had never been good at relationships - always going for the bad boys, and on the odd chance when she did date a good guy, he either turned out to be a complete bore or a _really_ bad guy who was just good at disguising it. She had thought at first Sam fell into the first category - he never played by the rules, coloring outside the clearly lined rules but getting the job done anyways. But then she had gotten to know him better, and their friendship had deepened and developed into...something. It was only after Sam had taken over her life did she realize it. Every thought, every action, every dream involved or revolved around him.

She didn't want to admit it, and had tried for the last day and a half to find a way around it, but she couldn't.

She was in love with Sam.

And so she did the only thing she knew she knew how to do - run.

That's how she found herself all alone, at the pier, on New Year's Eve.

* * *

_All this time _

_We were waiting for each other_

_All this time_

_I was waiting for you_

Sam had only been in love once before. When he was nineteen, all too eager to prove himself and let Michelle into his life, and into his heart. And that had ended with him finding her in bed with his best friend. He had promised himself never again.

Never again would he fall in love, never again would he open up his heart, never again let someone take complete control of his life.

And somehow, against all odds, Andy McNally had crept into his life and gotten such a grip on his heart that he couldn't untangle himself even if he wanted to. And he sure as hell didn't want to.

Did he believe in soul mates? No, but if he did, Andy would come pretty damn close.

She challenged him on everything - his orders, his beliefs, his way of life. Half the time he wanted to strangle her, but all the time he wanted to be close to her.

She made him think, but she also made him stop breathing. Every move, every glance, every touch or accidental brush of fingers sent electric jolts down his spine. When he closed his eyes, he saw her, clearly imprinted on his eyelids. When he opened his eyes, he could see her...even if she wasn't actually there.

He would take a bullet for her, would lay down his life for her without a second thought. The thought of losing her made him feel like he was going into cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock all at once.

He turned to face the window just as an old couple walked by. She was clutching his arm, smiling up at him, and Sam swore he could see actual, physical love coming from the husband's eyes as he looked down at his wife.

At that moment, he realized the one thing that had been hidden in plain sight. Andy belonged with him, and he with her. He had been waiting for her for too long.

Not anymore.

* * *

_All this time_

_We were waiting for each other_

_All this time_

_I was waiting for you_

Andy didn't think she had ever been in love before - infatuation, sure; puppy love, of course_. _But real, honest, undulated love was something she had never experienced. She didn't count Henry. They had both been young, too young. Besides, what she was feeling now was something completely new and, to be honest, perfectly frightening.

Did she believe in soul mates? Maybe. If there were soul mates, though, Sam Swarek would come pretty damn close.

He made her think, and challenged her principles, encouraging (and sometimes forcing) her to see and think outside the box. To color outside the black lines. To instead decipher the gray mass of something called the real world.

He infuriated her, with his self-assurance and cocky attitude. But he also left her breathless. Every word spoken to her, every glance, every accidental movement that allowed her to touch him made her fee like spiders were running up and down her spine. She hated spiders, but these kind were more than welcome.

The thought of not being with him, the thought of him gone and not in her life anymore made her throat constrict and her heart beat erratically.

The sound of laughter made her turn her head. She saw an old couple walking hand and hand down slowly down the pier. The man had said something to make her laugh, and he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. Andy thought she could see actual, physical love pouring from the wife's eyes as she looked up at her husband.

At that moment, she realized the one thing that had been hidden in plain sight. Sam belonged with her, and she with him. She had been waiting for him for too long.

Not anymore.

* * *

_I'm straight in a straight line_

_Running back to you_

_Straight in a straight line_

_Running back to you_

Sam knew exactly where she would be at this time of night. She had brought him there once. They had just gotten off-duty, and Sam was driving her home, both of them skipping their usual drinks at The Black Penny. The moon had been full, and Andy had told him to pull over. He had obliged, though somewhat bewildered, and she had shown him the pier and the moon shining down on it. It had been a beautiful sight, though Sam wasn't one for nostalgia and pretty things.

So that was where he went. Glancing at his car clock, he noted with apprehension that it was eleven fifty-two. He swung a hard right, and pushed his car into full gear, taking the back routes.

He parked haphazardly on the street. Eleven fifty-six.

He saw a lone figure standing at the edge of the railing, looking down at the water. It was a figure he knew by heart.

"Andy!" he called out, running to where she was standing. She turned around, and Sam was again reminded just how beautiful she was.

"Sam," she said in a confused voice. She stared at him as he ran towards her. Not stopping, he crashed into her, lifting her up in the air as he kissed her fiercely. She was taken by surprise for a moment, then responded with equal passion. She broke off the kiss first, gasping for air.

"What the hell Sam?" she asked breathlessly. Sam smirked, loving the way she said his name. Then his expression became serious.

"Andy McNally, you are an infuriating, passionate, irritating hell-raiser," he said. Andy furrowed her brow, looking up into his dark eyes.

"And you, Sam Swarek, are an obnoxious rule breaker," she shot back. Sam grinned. He caressed her cheek. Andy couldn't breathe as she stared back at him.

"I love you," he said, so softly she thought she might have imagined it. Then he spoke louder.

"I love you Andy," Andy smiled. She kissed him again, and behind them, fireworks exploded.

He had found her. She had found him.

It was the beginning of a new year, and the beginning of the rest of their lives.

* * *

_What did you guys think? I know, it was kind of fluffy, but it kind of just wrote itself. Please review, much appreciated! xoxo_


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